Best Of Enemies
by Perriane
Summary: A story detailing the lives and adventures/misadventures of a group of human auxiliaries on a Tau held world.
1. Chapter 1

**Best Of Enemies**

This is a story I originally posted on /tg/ A few minor alterations have been made for grammar and spelling.

**Part 1**

Sergeant Kurran assessed his enemies carefully, 5 years of combat experience allowed him to do so in an instant, four xenos, blued skinned Tau. Whilst they were physically of a similar size and shape to a human, their hooves meant they weren't quite as quick on their feet in this kind of close in fighting. Kurran could also tell by their stance and stiff movements that they really weren't used to mixing it up in hand to hand combat. As far as he was concerned a critical error for any soldier, in any kind of city or trench fighting it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Kurran exploded into action, the first xenos felled by a kick to the stomach which sent it flying into the second, taking them both down. Ducking under the third aliens wild swing he straitened up and delivered a vicious head butt. Just one left.

Kurran looked at the stern face of his final opponent, this one a female, he thought he detected a brief flicker of what could be fear, but only brief. The tau female stepped forward to deliver a quick jab, more collected than her fellows, but not good enough, a second later she flew through the air & landed several feet away on her backside, making a soft 'unf' sound as she landed.

'And that boys and girls is the end of today's lesson' Kurran said to the bruised & battered fire warriors, as their leader stood & thanked the human Gue'vesa'ui for the training session.

Kurran nodded to his students as they limped out of the room, noting that the female fire warrior didn't look in his direction as she gave a curt good-bye (or maybe it was a goodbye, Kurrans command of the Tau language was less than perfect).

Corporal Tanath walked into the training hall as the Tau left saying 'so are those blue guys kickin ass yet?' smiling as he did, as he continued 'I know we'd be dead if it weren't for them, but seriously, repaying them by teaching them how to fight is just stupid. One of these days the storms will die down, the navy will wipe out whats left of that chaos fleet and then we are gonna be wishing we'd all died, cause when they find out we got saved by a bunch of xenos and didn't then immediately charge to our deaths against them…well…'

Kurran shrugged 'Its been two years, the planetary governor left us here to die, not just troops, but families, women and children.' Kurran looked at his friend sighing as he said 'maybe we have a good thing here, at least for a while, no-one trying to kill us, or send us to a useless death in some mad charge. Sure we still have to fight, but at least the Tau let us live like men. Besides, what else can we do?'

Tanath looked thoughtful 'yeah but we have to be careful to make sure we don't get corrupted by these xenos.'

Kurran looked surprised 'This from the man who was disappointed that those films the commissar showed us about the base and debauched nature of the xenos weren't true. I think you need a drink and I know just the place.'

As the two friends left the training hall they saw another of their colleagues, hard to miss Kaesis was from Catachan, six and a half feet tall with a physique that wouldn't look out of place on a space marine, she waved as they approached. Tanath leaned in to Kurran whispering 'how can a girl look that intimidating & that cute at the same time?' Referring to Kaesis' girlish and shy features, which somehow didn't look out of place on a body that could obviously wreck your shit if you stepped out of line.

'Looks like you were giving those guys a hard time again, I just saw a Tau girl who seemed to be having trouble sitting down,' Kaesis grinned as she continued 'and she seemed to know quite a lot of Tau cuss words I've never even heard before.'

The three friends walked across to The Hole, a flea pit of a bar that was mostly frequented by the human populace of Dandross, the capital city of Dandross IV (the joke about the city being named after a scalp condition was now so old that no-one even told it anymore). The Hole was however also used by some of the Tau due to its closeness to the newly setup Tau military training centre.

As Kaesis walked ahead Tanath glanced towards Kurran as he asked 'Does Kaesis look ok to you, she's been acting weird lately.'

'She's from Catachan, if she didn't act weird, then I'd be worried.'

'Yeah but, ah I dunno, Throne. Life's too confusing these days, lets load up on amesac and get wasted.'

The three sat at the bar after squeezing across the crowded room, ordering two glasses of amesac each. Kurran glanced to the left noticing three Tau, twomales and a female, one of the males appeared to be very drunk. Kurran didn't recognise the two males but the female he noted was his sparring partner from earlier in the day.

As the humans sat quietly talking at the bar the drunk Tau staggered across mumbling something unintelligible.

Tanath looked amused as he laughed 'I didn't even know those guys could get blasted, hooves and booze don't seem to mix too well.'

The inebriated Tau made a sudden lunge towards the nearest human, which happened to be Kaesis, who really wasn't paying any attention to the antics of the short (compared to her), loud booze addled alien. As the Tau pushed into Kaesis she lost her balance on the narrow bar stool, crashing to the floor covering herself in her own glass of amesac and also with the rather rank smelling liquid from the glass which the Tau was still clutching.

The Tau said something in broken Low Gothic which sounded very much like 'Your squirrels are dirty wash boards!' Kurran was surprised to have finally met someone whose imperial was worse than his own command of the Tau language. Still he wasn't going to let this blue skinned son of a grox get away with something like this. Just as he grabbed the throat of the Tau and was lining up for a sweet head butt he glimpsed the face of the female Tau (he really had to remember her name, Sun something Blade, Beam, it could wait). But she did look…disappointed, maybe she was bothered by the fact that she'd come for a quiet drink, just like Kurran and his friends and was about to see the evening destroyed like a…well like a Tau in a fist fight.

Shas'ka Savon leapt from her stool and dashed towards the human holding her comrade, the cold look in his eyes as he prepared to beat him senseless chilled her down to her hooves but she had to try and stop this. 'Please he wasn't attacking you, he was trying to say he thinks you guys aren't as bad as everyone says.'

'How the throne would something like that come out as a comment about washing squirrels?!?' piped in Tanath.

Savon gazed intently at the face of the human holding the much smaller Tau, he was fairly big as far as humans went and she knew from her earlier encounter that he could really handle himself, not like the Tau unarmed combat instructors she'd met who'd probably never punched someone in their lives, no this human and his comrades could really do some harm.

To Savon's surprise the human dusted off the Tau he was holding and his face calmed, the change was amazing, from the edge of brutal violence to amiable in a second, she wondered if this sudden potential for violence was one of the things which made humans so dangerous, it certainly made them interesting to be around.

Just as she thought things were safe, Savon got a shock, whilst Kurran had decided that violence was not the answer, it seemed like the rest of the bar wasn't going to have their chance of a really good brawl ruined.

Savon tried to remain calm amongst the malestrom of violence which engulfed the bar. She'd seen some human entertainment films which often involved fist fights, she'd always wondered why they usually seemed to occur in bars and now she felt like she was in one, but still not entirely sure why it was happening. Savon fought down the fear as she began to usher her two friends towards an exit, the crash of bottles breaking on skulls and the thud of fists hitting flesh filled her ears. Her companions were now really panicking and she tried to reassure them by staying as calm as possible, but she barely contained her shriek when a massive ugly human lept in front of her and grabbed roughly at her fatigues just below her throat. Her drunk friend collapsed in a terrified heap whilst her other companion pounded ineffectually on the side of her attackers arm. In a bizarre moment of clarity Savon realised that maybe there was something to the whole idea about learning where and how to hit someone, that's when she remembered something that Kaesis had told her and kicked her attacker in the groin, really hard. He made an odd high pitched whimpering sound that she was surprised someone that big could make and collapsed to the ground ripping her fatigues as he fell. Savons moment of triumph was short lived however as the big mans friend grabbed her around the throat from behind. She could feel the life being squeezed out of her and that's when she really began to get scared, this wasn't a training session, or a human film, she'd never been in real combat before and now she was going to die…..

Kurran yelled to Kaesis 'I need to get over there!' Pointing towards the struggling Tau. Kaesis barged across the bar, using her massive strength to clear a path towards the helpless Tau warrior, Kurran following in her wake. As he approached the man choking the life out of Savon he grabbed him roughly, spinning him around and then dropped him with a punch to the gut. As the man coughed and groaned on the ground Kurran hissed at him 'its just a bar brawl, they don't know the rules' pointing to the man on the floor clutching his spuds 'and you should know that you don't go trying to kill someone in a ruck like this.' The man just coughed and looked away, Kurran had a rep as being a tough fighter and he'd already tested that as far as he wanted to.

Kurran took a step towards Savon to check she wasn't too badly hurt and was surprised when she collapsed into his arms, the adrenaline, shock and excitement of the last few minutes having drained all strength from her body.

Kaesis smiled at the stunned look on her friends face as he held the exhausted Tau warrior in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Tanath waved from his perch atop an old ammo crate as his friend Kurran approached, calling out to him across the main square of the new barracks of the Dandross auxiliaries. 'Didn't think I'd see you this early.'

'What do you mean, what's so special about today' replied Kurran cautiously.

'You know, you carrying that Tau girl back to her dorm, after she swooned into your arms last night, her with her fatigues all ripped.'

Kurran responded quickly. 'I don't get you man, one day your complaining that the commissars lied about the xenos being so debauched, the next your saying we should be careful about being corrupted & now this.' Kurran stopped his rant when he noticed the grin on Tanaths face, matching it with his own as he explained. 'Look I just carried her back, she was tired after all that excitement, I think it was the first real fight she'd seen. I just put her in her bunk and left it at that.'

'Did you undress her first?'

'What? No!'

'Because you seem a bit defensive about this, you know we're gonna be trapped here for a while and most of the human girls left are either taken already or look like they got hit in the face by an entrenching tool.'

'Kaesis looks alright and what about the girl in the administration building over there, and that mechanicum chick, I mean except for that weird thing on her back….there's lots of girls.'

'Kaesis is too much like a little sister, a really huge little sister, but still, it'd be wrong. The girl in admin is a flighty floozy so concerned with how good she looks its borderline heretical.. And the mechanicum chick, seriously, have you seen that thing on her back, its just too freaky.'

As Kurran listened to Tanath list the various reasons why most of the females on Dandross IV were utterly unsuitable for anything even as involved as enjoying a meal together he found it difficult to refute most of them, though he couldn't help smiling as the reasons became ever more outlandish once Tanath got into his stride. Though he occasionally interjected with comments about how he distinctly remembered Tanath trying to get it on with them anyway.

Before Kurran could say anything else to this, he noticed the lieutenant walking across the square, a worried look on his face, the LT called out to them saying 'Boys, grab your gear and the team, we're needed.'

Kurran & Tanath exchanged glances, as auxiliaries for the Tau they knew the only thing they would be needed for was going to be something violent & dangerous.

The cramped interior of the devilfish troop carrier served as a makeshift briefing room for Kurrans squad as it skimmed across the surface of Dandross IV towards some unknown fate. The lieutenant and second squads leader were squeezed in on the ends of the two bench seats which ran either side of the craft. The lieutenant addressed the two squad leaders as he said 'OK guys listen close, we have some very specific instructions for this op. These directives must be followed to the letter.' He paused before adding 'No matter how odd some of them may seem.'

Sergeant Spence of second squad interjected 'Sir, if this missions so complex how come we only find out five minutes before we have to be in the air?'

The other passengers smiled at this, Spence was well known for asking a lot of questions and often being far too direct. The Tau occupation was probably a good thing for him, enquiring minds weren't exactly well regarded in the imperium and it had probably only been a matter of time before his natural curiosity had come to the attention of the wrong party, which would probably have meant his death. That is until the Tau came. Whilst there were still questions that wouldn't get an answer, they were much less intolerant of those asking the questions.

Whilst the others smiled Lieutenant Graid just shrugged, 'I only found out about this myself a few minutes before you did. The higher ups obtained some intel about a raid which will be taking place on the town of Halm 30 kliks away from the capital.'

Tanath cut in 'Halm, I know that place, you can hardly call it a town, a couple of dozen houses is all, it's a farming community. Why would anyone risk a raid on something like that, you'd have to be pretty desperate or stupid to mount a raid for a bunch of grain and shit. I mean the place itself doesn't have any defences but its not too far from places that can mount a strike against any raiding force.'

Kurran and Spence grinned at Tanaths outburst but Graid looked grim as he said 'Its not food they're after, its people and you can be pretty sure that for anyone they get things are going to be…' Graid didn't finish the sentence, everyone had heard stories about raiders and pirates, that those who died in the attack were luckier than those that were taken. No one said it but everybody knew that the kind of raiders that went after human targets, the kind that took slaves, were the worst. If a raider was just going after food or loot they could sell then people didn't always put up that big of a fight. Often better to let the raiders take some of your stuff and get away with your life, but if people knew that they're lives and freedom were at stake then they would fight to the finish. These raiders would be tough, smart and very dangerous. The mood within the confines of the transport suddenly became a lot more serious.

After Graid had finished going through the details of the operation both squad leaders looked puzzled as Spence asked 'Which idiot planned this op? And does he have any military training beyond reading the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer - Pop Up Edition?'

Kurran pointed to locations on the map laid out in front of them as he said 'Sir, I know its good to concentrate firepower but we're leaving ourselves completely open here and here. And how can we be so sure that this is the area they're going to land?'

Graid shook his head 'Gentleman I know this is difficult but these orders are from the very top, we have special intelligence. This is how things must be done.' In spite of the incredulous looks he got Graid continued 'Also intel says they wont be landing there, they have some kind of long distance teleporter, I don't have details beyond that. We'll only have a few minutes to get in position before they arrive so make it quick'

The men within the transport readied their gear after the final details of the plan were laid out as the Tau crew chief yelled out 'Touching down in three minutes, get ready!'

The two devilfish troop carriers each carrying a squad of human auxiliaries touched down on the outskirts of Halm village, crops blasted flat beneath the wash of their engines. As Kurran jogged down the rear ramp of the first 'fish' he could see more transports bringing in Tau troops as well. The plan Spence laid out had detailed two squads of Tau infantry with attached drones and a sniper drone team set up in the hills a mile to the east. They were hoping for heavy support from some Crisis battle suits as well but it looked like they weren't going to be there in time.

Tanath nudged Kurran as he walked past down the fish's ramp saying 'Not too bad huh, four squads, drones in the hills. We'll back on base in time for dinner with tales of valour to wow the ladies.'

Kurran was grim as he replied 'You know this isn't going to be like those guys we took apart on Coris, I have a feeling that this fight is gonna be a bit tougher.'

Tanaths smile didn't fade as he shot back 'Yeah I know that, but you really do need to be a bit more cheerful. Though I do have to admit the fact that the Tau with us aren't what you'd call veterans does have me a bit concerned. Though between their training and our expert mentoring I'm sure they'll be fine, right?'

Kurran nodded 'For an op that's been organised on about a minutes notice from a base that isn't on alert I think we aint looking too shabby to be honest. One good thing is I hear its Vral up in the hills with the sniper drones and nobody knows drones better than that guy.'

The look on Tanath's face was one of incredulity as he pointed towards one of the squads of Tau Firewarriors which had an extra man today 'Do you mean that guy?'

As the squads of auxiliaries got into position Kurran ran over towards Vral who looked slightly uncomfortable standing with the fire warriors rather than the drones with which he was more familiar. Whilst Vral was the most experienced Tau soldier at Halm he was much more used to hanging well back with his drones to provide sniper support.

Vral looked up as Kurran called out 'Vral, what are you doing over here? Why aren't you up in the hills with your drones?' Kurran looked about, where were Vral's drones anyway.

The presence of the more experienced human auxiliaries seemed to reassure Vral somewhat as he explained 'I was told to accompany the Firewarriors and assist them directly.' He made a gesture of lifting his pulse rifle to indicate exactly what kind of assistance he was giving. 'My drones are in the hills operating on independent AI.'

'Isn't that a lot less effective than having a controller for sniper drones?'

'Yes, but I've been ordered to not interact with them at all, complete independence.'

Kurran was confused as he ran to his ready position. An operation to intercept an enemy raiding party organised at incredibly short notice with bizarrely specific details of when and where the enemy would attack and specific orders to set up defences that either seemed overly optimistic as to how well you could predict what the enemy would do or just completely bizarre.

As he took cover behind a low wall Kurran looked out towards the Fire warriors on the opposite side of the town square, as he'd been moving back after his talk with Vral he'd noticed that the second squad was Savon's unit. They'd been setting up looking purposeful and confident, they were well trained and Kurran knew that they could do this. Still, Kurran was surprised that the nervous knot he felt before a battle was a lot worse than he'd felt it in a long time. He hoped she'd be ok.


End file.
